This 100-page article is for graduate students and more experienced researchers who are looking for a relatively brief yet in-depth look at the roots of today's qualitative research. The article is divided into three sections, the early history, the middle years, and contemporary times.

This is a story of sexual abuse told from the point of view of the child survivor. The narrator is a gifted story teller who gives a lot of detail about the circumstances of the assault, including beautiful descriptions of the Everglades where the assault took place.

Incest hurts children and confuses them. This general statement fits most if not all incest cases, but from there each family situation is different. This brief article shows that professionals and family members who want to understand particular families where incest has occurred must be open to a multitude of possibilities and only come to conclusions when they can document them.

Father Phil, a respected parish priest, sexually abused 12 year-old Alex. This story shows how the abuse affected Alex and his family. The effects included Alex’s bullying of his younger sister Nora. The family showed the courage involved when people face their fears and work with professionals who are supportive and competent.

This survey is for prospective adoption parents who are considering adopting children children with special needs. Your answers will show you where you have strengths as a parent and where you have room for improvement.

Learn things you've never known before in this backstage look at the development of grounded theory. Lenny Schatzman worked with Anselm Strauss for 28 years and was his first graduate student. With with and humor, Lenny tells it like it is. You'll learn about grounded theory from the ground up. At the end of the article is the transcript of the interview on which the article is based.

This article shows how child physical abuse threatens children’s psychological and physical health and is a symptom of callousness and inhumanity in adults who perpetrate it. Despite the consequences of physical abuse, most parents physically abuse their children at least once. The article uses the NEATS, a child and family assessment, to show pathways to recovery.

For more than 25 years, I have done research on perpetrators of violence and on persons who have risks for violence but lived law-abiding, pro-social lives. In this narrative, I describe my gradual understandings of the meanings of violence to perpetrators and of the violence that resides in my own heart and in my use of violent imagery and thoughts in my daily life.

The Roman Catholic Church today has an opportunity to become a world-wide model for how to be penitent for harmful deeds. This Church has a clear record of protecting priests who sexually exploit parishioners, children and adults. This article describes steps that lead to penitence: examination of conscience, reform, and a doctrine of skepticism toward our relationships with God.

A bishop in the US knew of a priests sexual interests in girls but did nothing for five months. The bishop did not inform parents. The priest had unsupervised access to children. This article tells the story and shows what the bishop should have done to keep children safe.

Grounded theory is an open-ended approach to research that can be adapted to many uses. This article shows how adaptable grounded theory is and was meant to be. Originating in the Chicago school of Sociology about 100 years ago, GT does not have to be about technicalities, but researchers can use it as an adaptable and open-ended approach to developing understandings of human situations.

This is a story about Nujood Ali, 10, who divorced her 30 year-old husband and wrote a best-seller that lifted her and her family out of poverty. The analysis shows how the theory of unkind deeds and cover-ups applies and how important resistance is to abuses of power.

Women often do not know about the changes they may experience as they grow older. This article outlines the changes that women can expect by the time they reach 50 and beyond. It also suggests ways to deal with the changes.

Bobby tells the story of robbing a drug store at gunpoint. He gives an insider's view of his desperation for drugs, hijacking a van, a crash after a police chase, faking seizures at the hospital, and ending up in prison for a long time.

This article describes case study research and shows how difficult such research is. Valuable for its contributions to theory, case study research requires strong conceptual skills on the part of researchers.

Emma is a beautiful chestnut filly who wants a forever person. No one seems to want her. Emma thinks it's because of her floppy ears. Finally, along comes Kay who loves Emma's ears. Emma had found her forever person.

Researchers' own experiences affect every aspect of the research they do, from conceptualization of the issues to be researched, relationships with research participants, to interpretation of findings, to writing up results, to dissemination. This article discusses reflexivity and provides examples of what it is.

Secondary trauma affects most service providers. Left unattended, such trauma can affect quality of services and providers’ personal lives. This article discusses strategies for identifying and dealing with secondary trauma

How to know when children have been sexually abused poses special challenges. Some children speak up, while others are scared into silence. Some show no signs, while others show signs of stress and trauma. At times, the interactions between children and the persons who may be abusing them sometimes raise concerns. This article show the many different signs that children show or may not show.

Interviewing children who have been sexually abused requires sensitive interviewers and an interview structure that fits children’s level of development. Sensitivity is important because most children who have experienced child sexual abuse are traumatized and the interview itself can be stressful. This article describes an interview used to gather evidence for court cases.

Attachment is fundamental to child development. The article covers attachment in infancy and childhood, adult attachment, issues related to attunement, inner working models, mutual regulation, and repair. This information is for parents, professionals, and other people who work with children.

Advances in the understandings of human brains have implications for social work practice. This discussion provides information about the interactive nature of human development. Human brains--and human beings--are co-constructed. Social workers need to be as sensitively attuned as parents if they are to provide effective services.

Petunia is a grand champion pig who escapes with her brother Peter from a slaughter house and hides from bloodhounds, a sheriff, and a posse. The story of the clever pigs goes viral on the Internet and the two pigs become international stars. Read this story and find out what happens to these two little pigs.

Children & teens who are sexually aggressive and who are preoccupied with sex worry parents and for good reason. This short book provides information on how to help child & teens who behave in sexually inappropriate ways. For parents and professionals.

Beliefs and emotional gratification are core issues in violent acts. Other explanations such as mental illness and being victims themselves take second place to belief systems. Through case studies, the author shows how beliefs and gratification are central to understanding and preventing violence

This book describes five areas of human functioning that are fundamental to child and family development. They are neurobiology, executive function, attachment, trauma, and self-regulation. Parents and professionals will find this handbook helpful as they work together to promote children's optimal development. Includes case studies to illustrate main points.

The last few seconds of the soccer game. The score is tied. Will does a fake and then shoots the ball to Roz, who scores. Roz and Will are heroes. At the next game, Will thinks the other team is talking about his twitching eye and rolling shoulder. They really are talking about the play he made with Roz. Will learns everyone has vulnerabilities. Kids who don’t get it need someone to talk to.

Assessment and evaluation tools can contribute to practice effectiveness if social service professionals choose them well. This paper provides guidelines for choosing tools for practice. Topics include standardized instruments, self-constructed instruments, and the importance of using tools that practitioners find useful.

Risk assessment for violence involves the investigation of five factors: These factors are 1 ) precipitating events, 2) patterns of direct statements, 3) circumstances that increase the likelihood of violence, 4) signs of cumulative stress, and 5) indicators of lowered risks for violence. This article describes a risk assessment based on these factors. For school violence and workplace violence

Through poetry, Jane Gilgun tells the story of one woman’s life. Inspired by Carolyn Heilbrun’s Writing a Woman’s Life, Jane writes in imagistic, lyric, and narrative styles to convey the rhythms of a life fully lived that includes the wonder of erotic love, the intrigues of bodily changes, and the warmth and com-fort of everyday life.

This paper updates an earlier version published more than 15 years ago (Gilgun, 1994c). I kept an emphasis on grounded theory research, but I added information on how to use literature reviews and hypothesis-testing in qualitative research. These additions are responsive to funders and dissertation committees who expect literature reviews and conceptual frameworks.

Women and girls sexually abuse children far more often than many people realize. This article describes what child sexual abuse means to women and girl perpetrators.
Sexual abuse by women and girls can be confusing for girls and boys. They often feel stigmatized because of wide spread-assumptions that only men sexually abuse children.

Through stories, this book shows the many ways that people avoid admitting they have done something wrong. Humor, acting innocent, and blaming others are just some of them. Getting others to believe it is their fault is the crowning achievement of being a shit. This book is a humorous look at a serious topic.

This small book outlines steps parents can take to teach children how to be sex offenders. It's easy. This part is satire. Next I discuss what parents and a concerned public can do to prevent children from becoming sex offenders. Prevention is hard. People must really want to do it. Apparently, not enough of us do. So, we will keep on raising children to be sex offenders. Is that what we want?

The beautiful, strong-willed Hannah Robinson defies her powerful father Rowland and marries the man she loves. The action takes places on a plantation in colonial Rhode Island in the mid 1700s. This play is based on historical records and the legends that sprang up over the centuries after Hannah died her early, tragic death.

Child sexual abuse means many things to abusers, but they rarely see what they do as abuse. This article shows in perpetrators’ own words what child sexual abuse means to them. By understanding what abusers get out of sexual abuse, survivors can see that who is at fault. It is not survivors. By "starting where abusers are," more effective policies and programs are possible.

Executive function and self-regulation are two capacities important to child development. This article describes what these two terms mean, illustrates main points with case examples, and provides guidelines for parents and professionals.

This article describes family incest treatment, which is rare in the United States, but whose treatment goals provide important information for family members who have experienced incest.
Topics covered are expression of emotions, responsibility, understanding incest, making amends, understanding human sexuality, and safety plans.

Children have a lot to say about their own sexual abuse, much of it surprising. They know far more than adults realize and have views that call out abusers for who they really are. Based on interviews, this article shows the many different ways that children think about being sexually abused.

The purpose of this article is to describe the various types of autism and to show how early intervention can help some children with autism gain in social and language skills. The article also describes ASD in terms of their neurobiology, executive function, attachment, trauma, & self-regulation (NEATS). Important information for parents and professionals.

Do sexually abused children become abusers? Most do not. Persons who do not become abusers have protective factors in their lives that help them to cope with, adapt to, and overcome the effects of the abuse. This includes boy survivors and girl survivors.

Through stories, this book shows what child sexual abuse means to children who have been sexually abused, perpetrators, mothers, and other family members. The book also describes services for child and adult survivors, perpetrators, and other family members. What individuals and groups can do for prevention is included.

Twelve year-old Fiona steals flowers from the garden of 85 year-old Rose and gets into a lot of trouble. Rose and Fiona are at a stand-off until they finally work out a deal that makes them both happy.

This book is for parents and professionals as they work together to help children who have serious conduct issues.
Conduct issues are common in childhood. The issues are serious when children do not respond to reasonable parental requests and when children's actions put themselves and others in danger.
This book provides much needed information and guidance.